[Cholecystectomy in the laparoscopic era]

Since 1991 laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been performed on 323 patients; 47 patients underwent conversion to open surgery. In the same period, 46 patients were primarily selected for open cholecystectomy. Half the patients were operated on because of gallbladder colic (the sole symptom). Conversion to open operation (14%) occurred not so much because of peroperative complications, but rather because of anatomical problems. On the fourth postoperative day, one patient died of septicaemia caused by iatrogenic diathermy damage to the duodenum. One patient developed a stricture of the choledochus as a result of ischemia. This was caused by dissecting the choledochus, having mistaken it for the ductus cysticus which was missing in this anatomic variant.